Electronic space unit humidifier



Patented Dec. 9, 1952 D@ sfflwAfrzEs orales.;

2,621,281e enecrnomeisraoe UNITHUmnm-Eefcharlesv-fnunk1e, narnia-ment Appneaum August vsi, 1951; semina. 24am vclaims:1 (c1. Z119- 4m revendeur-relates: te numiulfyingedevices;

adhasparticularfreference a: device fo'r add;

prove evices" of-t'hecharacter indicated andE par-f tiularlgfl' tti-provide a: control system for sucha devic'e;fwlii`cli-is -simplefinconstruction, 'economicalvt manufact-ure andeicientin'- operation:

` rotl'ie'r object o'fthe inventionvv is to-provide a=l'device' f'o'fthe-character indicated which' has afcbntrolmechanism constructed andil arranged s'ethatfair' -ma'yf -b'ei' tra'pped aridi 'released fromk the Vwaterim aslv the` Yunit-I 'is being charged? with-f water from thema-in reservoir'.

xiothe'ltv object ofthe inventi'ori''istcA provide ahumidi-fylngvrdevice foin'domestic:purip'o'ses1which L' isfcdn'i'pact'- andliigl-ilyY portable? an'd one in which al'xno'st'- ari'y type-of;v aniv opens receptaclemayA 'be employediasthelmain reservomthereby reducing. the-costi ofi' production. of". the` device and rby.

theffs'ameifftoken broaden'mg. ther-:horizmr of its The"j foregoingf'and other' objects1-and adv-antfagesl 'cfthe invention'- fwill `became"-` more apparent asf the description proceeds, l reference" being' made-from timeto time;- tothe accompany= 1- Fie? 1l `'isf 1averticali 'sections teuren/:th'rougl'i a device embodying the n'ivexrtion.'

Fig; 21 'toppled viewer the. desliceY illus:-

F1 a 'is asectionv taken substantially on the. un off Fig-si.

' In Patent'No; 2,451,5941issue'd to" Watsonhe. disclosed the process of'vaporiz'ing a liquid by inserting a pair of spacedelectrodes in the" sul-"-`l vides a' Ygr'eatl'y improved mechanism forzcon. trollingl the'ow-of fiuid'fronriy thezpnncipallreser! voir` .to the"A heating' compartment; Thisv dis.-

clb'sure"alsofteaches'theQmannerfin which al1-highlyporta'ble compact version; of4`- a vhumidifying de vice may-rbe 'employed with aconventionalltype' o'f-Il water' reservoir;

l-'teferringV nov,xk moreparticularly to thev drawi'ng-s;it` will' bei understood thatin the embodiment'v herein disclosed, the reference character 1- indicates atray` or shallow receptacle'suitable for use as a reservoir foi'- ho'lding'the; liquid tol be vaporized Thereservoir' 1 should preferably be ma'd'e` of?V a non-conductiveA material. Pesi-1 tionedln theinside' of' the reservoirl 'l' and? rest'-` ingon thel bottomy IZA thereof, isl arectangular 150xV l'ikei structure havingA a. bottom' wa11-8side walls s? and Hi,Y andi end-walls yI I and I2', all ofi which a-1fe-1na.`deAA of 5a non'-conductive-Y material"V and ar-'esec'uredv together4 in a water tight manner` by" anysuitablemeans- The box 'like structure: just-,1 described is adapted to receive measured amounts of 'water froml the main 'reservoir 1,. througl'i-v the-'wall' opening I3` fand the' inclinedv passageway I4' formed in the member I5', whichis securedlt'o'l thewall I0 of the` box. like struc'-V ture previouslyv described; The flow `of theiwater from the' reservoir 1 through the'passageway. I'4l i'sl` controlled Y as' hereinafter described:

vid'ea counterbore I6' which isn'ormally covered. by a semi-spherical element I'I made of" 'pliable non-conductive material to which is secured a hollow spherical? element I8 which is in. com-g munication-` with 'the kmember I1 through the passagewayfla. The purpose of? the elements H and-IB-is to' provide an'insulating air space in passageway I6', in order-to preverltvthev electrical'v current from- Atraveling: fromthe electrodes. 32 and into the' :water .of the main. reservoir: 'Ll whichf-m'ight' sheck an 'attendant duringthe.

Y timeofl adding' water to or reiillin'gV the reservoirv 1. It? will/be understood. that `by manually'lifti ingthelhandle the rod 2| will' be forced down-vv wardly, collapsing the members I'and I'I. This forces'the water outor the elements III",l t6 and.

IfT and' permits air'from the member.' I8. to enter the-elements. I14',TI6z and I'Iv and. to remain. there so long as pressure islmaintainedron the rodvzi. Whenl the' pressure is released from rod. 2I the'. trapped air will then return to the member I8 and remain tl'ierier until thenext time themember I82is1col-lapsed-f The elements lvl and I8 areV suspended'on a rod 2I which. is pivoted atfits. upper tend; Stcrt a rocker armY 22,I which inv turn rocksionaa pin.23 secured inthe wall I Il. of the boxif- Iikeistructurei previouslyV described. The

rocker arm 22 is made of any suitable non-conductive material. Secured to the opposite end of the rocker arm 22 is a bent and rebent rod 24 which is provided with a terminal eye 25,- which engages the outer periphery of an internally threaded spool like nut 26, which is secured to the end of an adjusting arm 21 which is rotatable about its longitudinal axis by the hand grip 28. The nut 26 engages the external threads 29 formed on another rod 30, at the lower end of which is secured a oat 3I. The rise and fall of the float 3| is controlled by means oi adjusting the position of the nut 26 on the rod 30. This in turn controls the movement of the member I1. When the member I1 is lifted from the upper surface of the member I5, it permits water to enter the counterbore I6 and the passageway I4 and hence through the wall opening I3 into the lower portion of the rectangular box like member 8-i2. When the member I1 is forced over the opening I6, the uid in the passageways I3, I4, and I6 is moved downwardly permitting any air trapped in the passageway to escape into the opening formed between the member I1 and the member I5 which air may then escape into the member I8 through the passageway I9. A slide 21A extends through a slot formed in the wall 9 and is adapted to frictionally engage the rod 21 to lock the parts in closed position as shown in Fig. 1.

In order that this humidifying device may operate with utmost efficiency, it is very important that the water level in the box like structure B-I 2 be controlled within somewhat exacting limits. It will be understood that the water level in the reservoir 1 must at all times be above the surface of the member I and that the water level in the box like member 8-I2 previously described shall be sucient to cover the lower ends of the conductive generatorplates 32 and 33, which are respectively spaced from, as at 34, and 35, and secured to, as at 36 and 31 the non-conductive walls 38 and 39 of the generator. The generator plates 3'2 and'33 are highly conductive elements and serve as the electrodes for the generator. It will be noted that the conductive plate or electrode 32 has one or more cut-out portions 32A formed along the lower edge thereof. This reduces the surface area of the electrode 32 and its resulting potential.

Leads 46 and 4I are arranged to a source of 110 Volt A. C. electric current. The side walls 38 and 39 and end walls 42 and 43 of the generator are secured tothe underside of a top member 44, which is provided with an opening 45 which communicates with a stack 46, through which the vaporized liquid escapes into the atmosphere. The lower ends of the generator walls 38, 39, 42 and 43 rest upon the bottom 8 of the box like member 8-I2. The side wall 38 of the generator has an opening 41 at the bottom so that'liquid may enter the generator from the box like member 8-I2. Spacers 48 of non-conductive material are positioned between the wall I I (Fig. 2) of the box like member 8-I2 and the wall 39 of the generator and spacers 49 are provided on the wall 38 of the generator and serve as guides for the reciprocating movement of the iioat 3|.

The device functions as follows. The reservoir 1 'is rst lled with water to a suitable depth sufficient to cover the upper surface of the member I5. The locking slide 21A is then released from the rod '21 and the rod 21 is rotated about its longitudinal axis until the nut 26 is in a position to be connected on the rod 30 to permit the rocking or the arm 32 to lift the member I1 from the member I5. This permits Water to enter the passageway I6,

I4, and I3 and flow into the box like structure 8-I2. When the water level in the box like structure 8-I2 reaches the required depth to cover the lower ends of the electrodes 32 and 33, the nut 26 is adjusted so that the oat 3| will force the member I1 into contact with the member I5 to shut oif further ow of water into the box like structure 8-I2.

,Electrical connection is then made with a suitable source of volt A. C. electrical current and the device begins to function. Upon passage of the current across the surface ofthe liquid, films of the liquid immediately commence to rise in rapid succession.` These films bridge the space between the electrodes 32 and 33 and are arched upwardly. The current flows through the films until the latter become Vaporized. Both of the electrodes 32 and 33 become activated for ,afdistance of several inches above the liquid level. The electrodes 32 and 33 are of such low resistance as to be practically unheated by the iiow of current through them. As the films become vaporized and rise through the interior of the generator, they are discharged into the atmosphere through the vapor stack 46. The temperature of the liquid in the box like member 8-I'2 remains cool so that the vaporization does not depend on heating of the mass of liquid as is the case with the usual water humidifier. The vapor emanating from the stack 46 is practically invisible and readily mixes with the air in the room. The device will continue to function in the manner indicated so long as water is retained in the reservoir 1 and electric current is applied to the electrodes 32 and 33 of the generator.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

- l. In a device of the character described in combination, a liquid reservoir of non-conductive material, a rectangular box like member of nonconductive material supported on the bottom of said reservoir, an electric vapor generator in said rectangular box like member, a non-conductive element on one of the outside walls of said box lkemember, said non-conductive element having an inclined passageway therein in communication with the interior of said box like element and said reservoir, a collapsible semi-spherical vnonconductive element positioned over the upper end of said passageway and arranged, when collapsed. to force air into said passageway, whereby to prevent the electric current from the generator from reaching the liquid in the reservoir, a rod for supporting said semi-spherical element, a rocker arm for supporting such rod, a secondrod supportedby said rocker arm, and a float positioned inthe said box like member and meansfor securing said float to said last named rod.

2. The structure defined in claim 1, in which said generator comprises a pair of closely spaced electrodes, the lower ends of which are arranged to be submerged in the liquid carried in said box like member.

3. The structure defined in claim 1, in which said generator comprises a pair of closely spaced electrodes arranged to be partially submerged in the liquid carried in the said box like structure, one of said electrodes having a submergeable area greater than the other.

4. In a device of the character described in combination, a liquid reservoir of non-conductive material, a rectangular box like member of nonconductive material supported on the bottom of said reservoir, an electric vapor generator in said rectangular box like member, a non-conductive element on one of the outside walls of said box like member, said non-conductive element having an inclined passageway therein in communication with the interior of said box like element and said reservoir, a collapsible semi-spherical nonconductive element positioned over the upper end of said passageway and arranged, when collapsed, to force air into said passageway, whereby to prevent the electric current from the generator from reaching the liquid in the reservoir, a rod for supporting said semi-spherical element, a rocker arm for supporting such rod, a second rod supported by said rocker arm, and a oat positioned in the said box like member and means for securing said oat to said last named rod, said semispherical element having superimposed upon it a hollow spherical element the interior of whichis in communication with the interior of said semi-spherical element.

5. The structure defined in claim 1, in which the rod supporting said float is threaded at .the upper end and upon which threads are positioned a spool like nut, there being means connecting said nut and one end of said rocker arm whereby the travel of said rocker arm is controlled.

6. The structure defined in claim 1, in which the rod supporting said iloat is threaded at the 30 2,124,482

upper end and upon which threads are positioned a spool-like nut, there being means connecting said nut and one end of said rocker arm whereby the travel of said rocker arm is controlled'an offset rod secured to said nut and a lockingl element carried by one wall of said rectangularhox like member, said locking element being adapted to frictionally engage said offset rod thereby said rocker arm and its associated elements may be held in predetermined position.

7. The structure defined in claim 1, in which said generator comprises a hollow rectangular member of a non-conductive material open at the bottom and having closely spaced electrodes supported on the interior thereof, one of said electrodes having a greater potential than the other, and a vapor discharge stack in communication with the interior of said generator and the atmosphere. t

CHARLES V. RUNKLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,461,840 Vignon July 17, 1923 2,090,282 Bock Aug. 17, 1937 Blair July 19, 1938 

